


She could try wishing for sheer dumb luck

by Miraphina Atherton (mew_tsubaki)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon Compliant, Drama, Gen, Horror, Maydayverse, bc of her fears, post-HBP, pre-DH, well kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-09-29 19:17:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20441150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mew_tsubaki/pseuds/Miraphina%20Atherton
Summary: McGonagall receives communication that there will indeed be a new school year despite the loss of Dumbledore.





	She could try wishing for sheer dumb luck

**Author's Note:**

> The Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling, not to me. A completely random idea I had and wrote during English class. ;D Read, review, and enjoy!

Minerva McGonagall swallowed the mouthful of mead she had. The drink felt like sludge as it tried to get past the lump in her throat. But what was she to do? It was not as though she could choke on it, and she certainly couldn't drown from so little liquid.

Merlin, drowning would be a welcome option these days.

A chill crept up her spine as she looked at the letter on her desk in her study. It was a short piece of parchment in the usual green ink, but this time the green ink meant something different altogether. The story was something entirely new, and the letter read:

_ To all returning Hogwarts staff—_

_ Attendance is mandatory if you are of pureblood or of acceptable half-blood lineage. There will be no pay raises except in the case of the Disciplinary Committee._

_ The Disciplinary Committee is new to Hogwarts this year for the purpose of instilling a new sense of pride in the new generation of the Wizarding world. Though attendance is mandatory for pureblood or acceptable half-blood students, as well, not all students will see the error of their ways in supporting Harry Potter. Those who support Harry Potter will be dealt with appropriately. Those who do not learn their lesson the first time will be handled in such a way that they do._

_ Those of you wishing to join the Disciplinary Committee may owl me before your arrival._

The letter went on to mention the handful of usual dates—arrival, Hogsmeade trips (what a fright they'd be this year), so on and so forth. But what boiled Minerva's blood was that final salutation:

_ Regards,_

_ Severus T. Snape_

_ Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

The witch shook her head and shut her eyes tightly. Good blasted Godric, what now? What did she do now? "Mandatory attendance" was a load of hippogriff excrement when compared to the option of running away. But now what? Did she return to a castle to which unfamiliar shadows now clung? Did she unpack in an office that would no longer feel like home? Did she dare sully the position of Deputy Headmistress by working under the likes of _him_? Truthfully, it all came down to one question that mattered:

Did she dare abandon those children?

The query gave her pause. She was concerned for her own safety, of course, but really…there _was_ no question. These kids—these kids were her life. Here they were, in 1997, on the brink of 1998, and Minerva was questioning whether decades of her dedication to these young witches and wizards were _worth_ it? It had to be worth it, for her to drive herself nuts all these years trying to teach them.

She could never run away and abandon them.

With a shaking form, she bustled about to and fro and hastily gathered her things. She downed one more glass of mead before heading out the door. She'd need all the courage and strength she had if she were to protect these young minds.

Even if it cost Minerva her reputation, her sanity…

Or her life.

**Author's Note:**

> A brief look into that summer before Deathly Hallows for Minerva...interesting to know what the other teachers thought, actually. ...hmm. I smell other plot bunnies developing. And, yeah, even McGonagall probably had her nerve tested.
> 
> Thanks for reading, and please review!
> 
> -mew-tsubaki :]
> 
> 2019 note: WELL! As loyal readers know, I've spent the last couple yrs going back to reread and edit my old HariPo fics before I cross-post them to AO3 (mew_tsubaki) and to tumblr ([camelliacats](https://camelliacats.tumblr.com/)). And I'm a meticulous note-taker and keeper of details…but, alas, this old drabble from November 2011 slipped by my radar because it was one of the few things I wrote straight on FFN—as in, I wrote it in the preview screen of the Doc Manager and posted it when I was done. So…I forgot to save a hard copy to my flash driver after, oops. :+ But! I made sure to grab it because I still quite love this and wanted to make sure to share it with my audience. I love Minerva, and I felt for her and the other defiant teachers who absolutely hated what tf happened back then. In terms of content, I added a few words here for clarity's sake, but I'm also marking this a [Maydayverse](https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Maydayverse) fic, as I do consider this to be part of my overall headcanon universe.


End file.
